"The world is gaga for Mars. Its richest man, Elon Musk, is actively scheming to colonize the red planet over the next decade . . . Under the long, dark shadow cast by this ambition, the science journalist David Baron has produced a short, twinkling book about the origins of Mars mania . . . You can consider Baron a sort of sun, shedding light . . . In Baron’s true tale, reputations rise and fall, and ego distorts like a smudged lens."— Alexandra Jacobs New York Times Book Review
"Mr. Baron gives a briskly written account of planetary intrigue and obsession. . . . The Martians is a well-told tale of cultural and scientific history. . . . [It] is a compelling chronicle of a man whose legacy as an astronomer is tarnished by wishful thinking. It is also oddly stirring."— John J. Miller Wall Street Journal
"Baron seasons his narrative with striking details. . . . [H]is highly enjoyable book makes a strong case for the proposition that brainy Martians exist only in the imagination of Earthlings."— Dennis Drabelle Washington Post
"[The Martians] shows how fantastical beliefs gained purchase in a pre-Facebook age . . . Still, if Baron deftly illustrates the historical roots of collective phantasms, his book is ultimately most interesting for what it says about the timelessness of our shared fascination with the stars, and Mars in particular . . . Baron persuasively argues that giving in to our imaginations might not be the worst thing—even if today, amid what future historians might dissect as a second Mars craze, pinpointing the blurred lines between truth and fiction can feel like a more urgent task than ever, and geniuses often turn out also to be cranks."— Jon Allsop New Yorker
"Mars mania gripped the world a century ago, and this witty new book explains why. . . . David Baron’s deeply researched and witty book . . . approaches his subject with clarity, style and narrative drive."— Chris Vognar Los Angeles Times
"[A] convivial and rigorously researched history of the first Martian craze. . . . The Martians is fundamentally a portrait of the man who turned Mars into the night sky’s red Rorschach blot."— Nathaniel Rich New York Review of Books
"Well-researched and elegantly written, Baron’s account illuminates the origins of America’s continuing fascination with Mars."— Barbara Spindel Christian Science Monitor
"Mars, our barren neighbor, has served as an empty canvas for our expansionist imaginations since long before Elon Musk arrived on the scene. Baron chronicles the lasting influence of the Mars mania that gripped America during the early 1900s, how it captured the imaginations of Nikola Tesla and Alexander Graham Bell, generated speculative news headlines, fueled astronomical ambitions and left an indelible imprint on our culture."— New York Times Book Review, “21 Nonfiction Books Coming this Summer”
"David Baron spins a clever tale about a real craze."— Douglass K. Daniel Associated Press
"It’s a lively story that will be entirely new to most modern readers. . . . Baron is a clear, rigorous storyteller."— David Kamp Air Mail
"Baron’s vivid narrative reads as part history, part social study, and part literary drama, making complex scientific dynamics accessible without sacrificing depth . . . The Martians does more than examine this episode in astronomical history; it also illuminates the very human processes by which science is often made, contested, and believed."— Dov Greenbaum Science
"A fascinating tale of a sweet delusion."— Christopher Borrelli Chicago Tribune
"[An] oh-my-goodness-they-believed-what? romp. . . . Prepare to be dazzled."— Maren Longbella Minnesota Star-Tribune
"This Boulder-based author has a knack for dredging rich characters from the annals of science. In this book, he shadows the astronomers who, at the dawn of 20th century, fell for and promoted a conspiracy theory so outlandish that it would be hard to believe by even today’s standards. But the book offers more than just an engrossing and often comical read; it trains a telescope on our own world, revealing a darker side of scientific ambition that can be both troubling and deeply inspiring."— Colorado Sun, "2025 Summer Book Guide"
"David Baron delves into the astonishing historical evidence of the Mars mania that swept the nation at the turn of the 20th century. Whether you believe in UFOs or not… the truth can be stranger than fiction."— B&N Reads, "Best Books of August 2025"
"Few crazes have possessed the peculiar blend of scientific gravitas and romantic foolishness that characterized our nation’s turn-of-the-century infatuation with Mars. David Baron’s The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-of-the-Century America retrieves this forgotten episode from history’s dustbin and polishes it until it gleams like the red planet itself on a clear desert night . . . Baron, a former NPR science correspondent, approaches his subject with the light touch of a novelist and the precision of a historian."— Scientific Inquirer
"Baron mostly confines his commentary to the era of the Mars craze, but in reading, one can’t help but consider current events . . . Part of the reason the Martian craze took off, Baron argues, was because people wanted to believe. The creatures, apparently capable of irrigating their entire planet and sharing water with one another, were depicted as wise and good, living in harmony — a vision of a civilization earthlings could only dream of."— Emily Conover Science News
"Baron’s evocative book, filled with colorful characters, reminds us that we owe the exploration of Mars, in part, to visionaries like Percival Lowell. . . . [I]t also reminds us that the question ‘Are we alone in the universe?’ remains a central theme of space exploration."— Laurence A. Marschall Natural History
"Baron writes with both humor and sympathy for the era’s dreamers, emphasizing that the Martian obsession reflected the anxieties and aspirations of a society in rapid upheaval."— David Martin Davies Texas Public Radio
"With The Martians, David Baron has crafted more than a history book; it’s a cultural mirror reflecting our endless curiosity about whether we are alone. As humanity edges closer to setting foot on Mars, the lessons from past “Mars mania” may help us navigate the line between inspiration and illusion."— NASA Space News
"The Martians is a well-written and well-researched historical book that’s also fun to read. It’s engaging, full of offbeat stories that capture a subject that lives on today."— Center for the Study of Space, Crime, Piracy, and Governance
"The story should be of interest to any space fan, both because it reveals the origins of how people see the universe, and how it rhymes with today’s push into the solar system."— Tim Fernholz Payload
"Engrossing."— Dan Falk Undark
"Science journalist Baron (American Eclipse) explores the fanciful tales surrounding the debate on whether intelligent beings inhabited Mars...This absorbing, illustrated account will transport science fiction and astronomy buffs back to when people dreamed of life on Mars."— Library Journal, starred review
"In this captivating and vivid history, journalist Baron (American Eclipse) recreates the mania for Mars that gripped America over a century ago . . . While Baron points to the dangers of conspiracy theories and bunk science, he also presents the saga as one of infectious optimism that inspired subsequent generations of science fiction writers and scientists. It’s an enthrallingly bizarre and surprisingly poignant account of humankind’s limitless willingness to believe."— Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Entertaining account of the Mars madness that saturated popular culture at the turn of the 20th century.... Are there Martians out there? Baron has evident good fun looking into the origins of an ongoing craze."— Kirkus Reviews
"Throughout, Baron weaves in the impact of world affairs as well as sensationalist journalism, which positioned Mars news as an escape from reality. Although the Mars craze did not last past WWI, Baron argues that it influenced future space missions and sf luminaries. Additionally, Baron personally visited historic sites connected to Mars coverage, providing a present-day connection to past enthusiasm. A captivating look at an astronomical obsession."— Rebekah Kati Booklist
"A tale astonishing and improbable. Ego! Madness! Tesla! Turn-of-the-century bon vivants and engineering-savvy Martians! And, at heart, the very human longing for a better world. Impressively researched and perfectly executed, The Martians is . . . a fizzing terrific read."— Mary Roach, author of Packing for Mars
"David Baron, America’s premier scribe writing at the intersection of astronomy and social history, captures the Red Planet Craze in all its quirky and fabulous weirdness. . . . The Martians makes for enlightening and insightful reading, but it’s also just plain fun."— Hampton Sides, author of The Wide Wide Sea
"David Baron’s exuberant book tells the story of a seemingly alien race—Americans of a century or so ago—that, on closer inspection, bears an uncanny resemblance to us today. The rich had gotten fantastically richer, life was unsettled by an array of new technologies, and, in their frustration, people began looking elsewhere for answers."— Russell Shorto, author of Taking Manhattan
"David Baron beautifully captures all the drama, humor, and sheer craziness at the turn of the twentieth century when America went bonkers over the possibility of life on Mars. Well researched and thoroughly entertaining."— Marcia Bartusiak, author of The Day We Found the Universe
"In his skillful tour of the era, David Baron introduces us to a colorful cast of astronomers, inventors, and kooks, as they projected both the dreams and prejudices of a rapidly transforming society out into the solar system."— Peter Brannen, author of The Ends of the World
"[David Baron’s] book reveals the amazing backstory of what led to today’s Mars exploration program and the place that Mars holds in our collective consciousness."— Bruce Jakosky, project lead, NASA’s MAVEN mission to Mars (2003–2021)
"David Baron uses diligent research and smooth storytelling to explore the fine line between delusion and genius, the allure of unknown planets, and—perhaps the biggest revelation of all—the surprisingly potent afterlives of discredited ideas."— Darrell Hartman, author of Battle of Ink and Ice
"Based on meticulous and original research, gifted science writer David Baron has provided, in brilliant prose, a fascinating account of the scientific and cultural phenomenon known as ‘Mars mania.’... He has provided a book anyone who loves Mars is sure to love."— William Sheehan, Mars historian, coauthor (with Jim Bell) of Discovering Mars
"David Baron has written a scintillating and revealing story of Percival Lowell’s claims of artificial canals on Mars and the impact of these claims on science and popular culture. . . . The book is an original contribution to scholarship that will also appeal to a broad audience."— Steven J. Dick, former NASA chief historian, author of Astrobiology, Discovery, and Societal Impact
2025-04-17
Entertaining account of the Mars madness that saturated popular culture at the turn of the 20th century.
Every year or two for a couple of centuries, a new book or movie or bit of news comes along to suggest that Mars once hosted life forms—and may yet do so, hidden under red rocks and sand dunes. As science journalist Baron records, that long trend traces back to the late 19th century, with numerous protagonists. In France, Camille Flammarion, a budding scientist, wrote novels in his spare time in which he supposed “other planets to be populated by the souls of dead humans,” with one pair of doomed lovers reincarnated on Mars. So popular was Flammarion that an admirer gave him an imposing château outside Paris that he converted into his own observatory. In the U.S., Baron continues, came “the Mars boom of 1892,” promulgated by, among others, future news magnate Joseph Pulitzer, whose papers breathlessly reported “three bright spots, like powerful searchlights,” beaming down from Martian mountains. Italian scientist Giovanni Schiaparelli speculated that the regular lines that he could see through his telescope were ancient canals, a theme picked up by American astronomy buff and patron Percival Lowell, who in turn was sure that ancient civilizations once flourished on Mars. On that note, Baron turns to the liveliest part of his story, namely the influence of all this tentative, often flawed science on popular culture. He writes, “Lowell’s influence leapfrogged to a whole new generation when the creator of another craze—the Tarzan novels—wrote a string of adventure books set on a fictional Mars known by its inhabitants as Barsoom.” That author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, in turn inspired Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, and many other sci-fi writers who gave us shelves of books by which to “pass Lowell’s imaginative torch on to yet another generation.”
Are there Martians out there? Baron has evident good fun looking into the origins of an ongoing craze.
